Three Years and Three Days
by StatsGrandma57
Summary: I'm playing around with when Han fell in love with Leia. This is three years after he meets her and three days before the fall of Echo Base on Hoth.


THREE YEARS AND THREE DAYS

(Han)

It's been three years since we won the Battle of Yavin and I'm still here at Echo Base on Hoth. It's not because I love snow, either. I've never been so cold in my life, and no, I haven't adapted to the climate. Corellia's a temperate world, and while I've traveled to a lot of different places, I'd never been to one that was in a perpetual state of deep freeze.

The Rebels have given me cover, but they needed ordnance and supplies, and the closest and safest depot to Hoth was Ord Mantell. I was enjoying the warmth of Ord Mantell till I had an unfortunate encounter with IG-88 the first time, Skorr on the second trip I made. Apparently I'm a real popular guy; Jabba the Hutt's paying big credits to return me to his His Royal Sliminess. I didn't worry much till I was in a cantina one night and I'd heard that Boba Fett was looking to add me to his collection. Fett is not someone to screw around with. I realized that by sticking around, I could jeopardize the Alliance. Things were going badly enough. We'd lost several strategic encounters, we were short on credits, and we were on this ice ball passing as a planet. It was an ideal location to hide out. Who in their right mind would be here voluntarily?

Observe that I said 'in their right mind.' I'm pretty sure I lost mine somewhere along the way.

I suppose the question is, why didn't I leave after the Battle of Yavin? I'd been paid well. I needed to get rid of some old debts to Jabba. But I couldn't let the kid get killed. Luke's a good pilot, but there was a lot of bloodshed that day. I liked Luke. He's a good person and a close friend. Friends don't let friends get blasted into space dust.

And then, there's The Princess.

Ah, yes. Princess Leia.

I confess that I was attracted to her, if not instantly, it was inside an hour. But I shoved it aside, since I was gonna have to leave anyway. Trying to keep my head on was my mission and I was determined to fulfill it and move on.

But I stayed on and while I refused to accept a commission, I fought along with everyone else. We were well hidden on Hoth, but seeing as I'd run into bounty hunters, there was a good chance that we'd be found, sooner or later. So I made the decision to leave.

I really didn't want to. And it was because of her.

You'd think I'd have given up by now. But while we bicker all the time, there've been times when we took care of each other. She had the flu and I took care of her. When I got sick a few days later, she couldn't have been sweeter. Of course, the nice stuff was for when no one else was around.

But if she hates me so much, why is she always around me? I've watched her. I'm not an expert about women. I've had girlfriends. But I feel so totally different around her. I tried to kid myself for a long time, but the fact was, I'd fallen head over heels in love with her. Which may have played a part in my sticking around.

May have.

All I know is that whenever I see her, my heart beats faster and my breath leaves me. My dreams are filled with her in my arms, kissing her sweet lips, joining her to make us one body. I hear her laughter, see her beautiful smiles, and her tiny hands touching me.

Why do I torture myself like this?

Well, it's because I think she feels the same way about me. Yes, I know, we argue endlessly. Which is why I think she does. She's a brilliant woman, and tough as they come, but I get the feeling she's never been with a guy and she's scared to death to admit she could have feelings for anything but the Rebellion.

She's not the only one who's scared.

I really have to let this go. I've gotta get soon. It's the best for everyone.

But one thing's for certain . There's no place far enough away that I can stop thinking about her.

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It's been three days. In that time, my clearance to leave got pulled. In fact, everybody's clearance got pulled. There's been a lot of meteor activity, which is one of the reasons I'm still around. While Chewie and I were making final repairs on the _Falcon _when I was informed by Goldenrod Nuisance Droid that Luke hadn't checked in and it was getting dark. Nights here on Hoth are no joke; the temperature can drop fast enough to produce hypothermia in less than an hour. I wasn't about to let the kid be alone out there because friends don't let friends freeze to death. Fortunately, a two day dunk in the bacta tank seems to have put him back together. We were visiting him in the med bay and I was kidding around with Leia (well, sort of), and I got her all hot and bothered. She called me a scruffy looking nerfherder. I think I touched a nerve there.

And before Rieekan cancelled clearances for everyone, she started running after me as I was getting ready to head out, almost begging me to stay. I informed her that she'd been so busy being a princess that she hadn't learned to be a woman. Okay, maybe that was a bit harsh.

So I head out on patrol after we get some weird communication through secure channels. I come across what looks like some kind of droid. I took aim at it, and it blew up instantly.

I think the Empire figured out where we were. The base started the evacuation and I went to help Chewie finish on the ship. We started getting hit by some serious firepower. The heavy transports were moving on out. The base started caving in. I was pretty sure that the control area got hit and I wanted to make sure no one was injured. Leia was sure to be there. She'd worry about everyone else being safe, because that's her.

The evacuation was well underway and I tried to get Leia to her transport but the tunnel to it caved in and there was no way I was gonna get her there. I informed transport that I'd get her out on the _Falcon. _

She protested but she's a practical woman, and I will get her to the rendezvous. Jabba's just going to have to wait a little bit longer for his credits.

And then, probably, goodbye.


End file.
